


Passing on the Light

by lesbijkas



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Ginny/Luna is the end game of this, I've always loved harry and Ginny's relationship. whether romantic or not, ignores the epilogue, mutual breakup, nothing angsty though. mutual friendship and respect, the relationship just didn't work out lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 05:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12810147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbijkas/pseuds/lesbijkas
Summary: Ginny had agreed to brake off their relationship during the war and see where it all went once it was over.It (the war) was over. It (the relationship) was going nowhere.





	Passing on the Light

            Harry had known. He’d probably known before Ginny did, but how was he supposed to pay attention to the sexualities of his classmates when he didn’t even have time think about his own? He had missed a whole lot of teenage exploration because of dark lords, prophecies, and the war ( ~~if that wasn’t obvious enough~~ ).

            So what if Charlie Weasley looked just as hot as Cho Chang? If Cedric “Hufflepuff Hottie” Diggory was pretty?  If young Tom Riddle was handsome? That Angelina Johnson was a dream and Hannah Abbot, bless her heart, was extremely adorable? None of it mattered, not when he had a man (a term used loosely) slithering around in the back of his head and horcruxes to hunt.

            It didn’t matter at all.

            At least, it _hadn’t_. Past tense.

            With the war over, Hogwarts rebuilt, Shacklebolt as minister, and normal life finally under way, Harry had time to finally stop and think. Think about life. His life.

            He now had a godson, little Edward Lupin, who was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to be there for Teddy, wanted to be a part of his life just as much as Andromeda was going to be. Remus had named him godfather for a reason and he was not about to scorn that title; he would do everything within his power to be there and do what he could.

            He had the rest of Potter vaults left by his parents, and the Black vaults left by Sirius. The sums of both could have it so he and his children’s children would never have to work a day in their lives if they didn’t want to. Despite that, he still wanted to accomplish something, wanted to do something, wanted to have a normal job, a normal house, and a normal life. A family.

            Which brought him back to Ginny. Lovely Ginny. The girl who’d stolen his heart and deserved the world. He would never not love Ginny, just as he would never stop loving Ron and Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus, McGonagall, Hagrid, and Flitwick; many people had a place in his heart and Ginny was one of those people.

            He had kissed Ginny, held her, smelt the shampoo in her hair, and counted the freckles on her cheeks. She was a blazing star, bright and boiling over with life even after everything she had gone through, after everything they had all gone through. Harry would always love Ginny, always be happy she was a part of his life, and always see her as one of his best friends in the world.

            That was the problem. They were still dating, or they at least had never implied that they weren’t. Ginny had agreed to brake of their relationship during the war and see where it all went once it was over.

            _It_ (the war) was over.

            _It_ (the relationship) was going nowhere.

            A lot had changed in the months he had left with Hermione and Ron. The spark he had felt with Ginny all that time ago, even though it wasn’t very long at all, just wasn’t there. It was gone. Missing. Non-existent. Poof.

            There was nothing wrong with Ginny, nor was there anything wrong with him. It was simply how life worked sometimes. He had dreamed of getting married, settling down, having a few kids. That dream had been with Ginny for quite a time. Now, it would end up being with someone else. ~~A male someone else, if his other head had anything to say about it.~~

            He knew Ginny most likely felt the same way. At least, he hoped.

            Harry wasn’t very observant, even at the best of times, but there was one thing he had noticed, and that was the way Ginny looked at Luna. Lovely, lovely Luna Lovegood, another good friend who deserved the world as Ginny did. Who deserved Ginny just as much as Ginny deserved her.

            It would be a mutual break up, over good terms, and they would still sit next to each other during Sunday dinner at the Burrow. Their friendship would not suffer and they would both move on.

            …

            It was only early July and it was sweltering at Ottery St. Catchpole. Harry could feel sweat gathering at the nape of his neck, right under the edge of his robes. He had spent the previous week caring for Teddy. The boy had constantly changed his hair color to match Harry’s whenever Harry was in sight.

            It was endearing, downright sugar-sweet, and Harry felt his heart ache over the fact that Remus and Tonks would be unable to experience it.

            He walked along tall grasses that stretched out on a trodden down path, the Burrow getting closer and closer as time passed. It was Saturday, and he planned on spending the night, as per Mrs. Weasley’s needling. The majority of the others would be coming later or on the following day for Sunday dinner, which was quickly becoming a tradition that even Percy never missed.

            When he finally reached the edge of the main yard, spotting gnomes scurrying along the side of the house towards the backyard, he breathed a sigh of relief. He would be able to get out of the heat.

            He’d be able to talk to Ginny.

           She sat out front reading a book, her hair cascading down to hide her face from view. Freckles drenched her arms and legs with different shades of spots, as they normally did at the height of summer. She was relaxed, safe, at peace.

            Harry walked up to her, his shoes making muffled crunches against small stones and grass. Ginny looked up when he was ten feet away, a smile overtaking her face as she stood up. She left the book open in her haste, throwing her arms around Harry’s shoulders with a bubbly laugh, as if she hadn’t known he was coming and was over delighted. He hugged her back without wasting a moment.

            “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow?” she asked, finally stepping back.

            Harry shrugged, “So did I, but Andromeda was ready to take Teddy back a day early and saying no to Andromeda Tonks-”

            “- is impossible.”

            “Exactly.”

            They both laughed at it. A bead of sweat trickled down Harry’s forehead.

            “Come on, let’s get inside. Mum has some lemonade and we can booby-trap George’s room. He’s coming over around seven,” Ginny started walking towards the house before she finished, and Harry followed as always, the book forgotten.

            Mrs. Weasley was knitting another blanket for Teddy in the sitting room. She got up the second Harry walked into the room, pulling him into a tight hug and pressing a kiss onto his cheek. His heart burst with affection for the woman, thankful for the lemonade she gave to him and Ginny and for the cooling charms that enveloped the space.

            “I didn’t know you were showing up so soon Harry, how was Teddy?”

            “He’s doing well; I’ve never seen a happier baby. I’ll be looking after him again sometime in August, but we are all welcome to visit any time,” he told her after taking a few gulps of his drink.

            “That’s good. Made any decisions as far as future plans go?”

            Ah. The future question. Kingsley had asked the same thing, wondering if Harry would want to start auror training or go back to school come September. He hadn’t made up his mind about everything yet, but going back to school was definitely the first step. Hermione would ring his neck otherwise.

            “I will be going back to Hogwarts when the term starts to actually attend my seventh year and take my NEWTS. After that, I don’t know. I don’t think that I want to be an auror any more though. I’ve had enough of chasing dark wizards down for the rest of my life,” he told her honestly, glad when she merely beamed. Ginny seemed happy too.

            He knew the Weasley’s would always support his decisions, but to see it in front of him lifted a weight off of his shoulders.

            “You have time. None the less, how about you go upstairs and get unpacked. I am sure Ginny wants to talk,” she shooed them towards the stairs.

            Half empty glasses in their hands, Harry and Ginny went up the winding staircase at a sedate pace. The heat was felt in the hallways again and would hang over them oppressively until they got to her room.

            “And leave the door open! It’s not even eleven o’clock!”

            “Mum!”

            Harry tried not to laugh; he really did, especially since Ginny shot him a look as if daring to do anything was a crime. They made it to her room before he broke out into laughter. She hit him, not lightly, before she flopped back onto her bed. She didn’t spill a drop of her drink.

            He set his glass down on her dresser, shuffling over awkwardly towards the other side of the bed. She patted the vacant spot with a hand setting her own glass down on the floor. They soon sat next to each other in silence. Comfortable silence. But silence.

            Ginny eventually shifted to sit up, her knees knocking into Harry’s as she sat facing him. The bed creaked quietly. More silence.

           He’d miss her. She’d still be there, that he had no doubt, but it wouldn’t be the same. But, it wouldn’t be fair to her if he said nothing either.

            “This is harder to say than I thought it would be.”

            She only rolled her eyes, poking his leg with one of her toes, “You open your mouth and make some noise.”

            “Oh, ha ha, that’s not what I meant.”

            “Then spit it out.”

            It was said humorously, with a cheeky looking smile that was so Ginny it made Harry’s resolve all the more immediate.

            “I wanted to talk about us, you know, as a couple.”

            Ginny didn’t tense up, but she seemed to still.

            “We agreed to try it out again after, well, everything. And you’re great, more than that really, but I keep feeling guilty and I need to say something. You deserve better than what I am able to feel,” he paused, resisting the urge to rub the back of his neck, “Merlin, this is hard.”

            Her face softened, her smile dimming.

            “Look, I saw you with Luna after the battle. I don’t know exactly what you two went through in Hogwarts with Snape and the Carrows in charge, but I could see how happy you were. Not happy ‘cause you both survived, I mean- yes, that’s a part of it, but more than that, and neither one of us has said anything. We’ve been busy and everyone is expecting us to become this power couple or whatever-”

            “Harry-”

            “It’s been months. That spark isn’t there, for either of us. This whole time you’ve been in love with her, not me. And that’s fine. I am more than pleased, if anyone should have you as a girlfriend it should be Luna. You’d both be fantastic together and-”

            “Harry.”

            He finally shut his mouth, face heating up because what if he was wrong? What if he messed everything up? Fuck.

            Her brothers were going to kill him.

            “Thank you.”

            He blinked. She looked so relieved. Any tension that had been gathering disappeared; her eyes were alight in pure glee. Her shoulders bounced with silent laughs and he _knew_. She understood.

            “Oh fuck, I thought you were about to cry or something.”

            “Me? Cry? Harry James Potter, who do you take me for?” she asked with mock hurt, pushing against his chest to make him stumble back.

            Harry laughed as the bed creaked louder.

            “I honestly had no idea how to bring it up- I thought I hadn’t found the right guy yet and you were essentially the dream boat I’d been waiting for,” she stopped, cheeks pinking.

            “So, what you mean to say is, you prefer the company of girls and I was the final nail in the coffin?”

            “Like you have anything you can say; I’ve seen how you look at Draco Malfoy during quidditch matches-”

            “Have you seen the guy? His personality leaves much to be desired, but his looks…”

            “Nah, his Italian friend is where it’s at.”

            “Blaise Zabini?”

            “Yep.”

            They both burst out laughing again. It had gone well. More than well. Perfectly.

            “Seriously though, you should ask her out,” he finally spoke up a few minutes later after he had accio’ed his lemonade back into his hands.

            “I could probably go over right now and ask, see if she wants to come to dinner tomorrow.”

            “I think that’s a plan.”

            “Mhmm, of course, I may want to wait until my brother’s get here first,” her speech slowed down as she went on, a grin once again back on her face.

            Harry’s eyebrows rose.

            “I have to drop the news that Harry The Chosen One Potter broke my poor feminine heart, that I will never again find solace in another’s arms after this tragedy-”

            “Because I broke up with you or because you walked in on me with some bloke?”

            “With Blaise Zabini.”

            She dashed out of the room, with Harry hot on her heals as laughter rang through the house. Their friendship hadn’t been hurt, not at all.

            (And if Harry told this story at Ginny and Luna’s wedding years later, it had only made it better.)

**Author's Note:**

> Sent in on tumblr as a prompt:
> 
> hi! i know this is from a long time ago but do you think you could try this sentence starter? thanks. “this whole time you’ve still been in love with her… not me.”
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this!! I've always really loved Harry and Ginny's relationship and I can see them being really good/close friends even if they don't end up together. 
> 
> Comments and kudos, but especially comments, are appreciated!!


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